And here I thought that there couldn't be any more questions to answer on the CyberWeb NetSpace. But here's another one, courtesy of that ingenious time waster: Facebook!! Feel free to copy and paste on your pages, blogs, journals, etc... Just remember to come up with YOUR OWN ANSWERS!!!
01. What was the last thing you put in your mouth?
Coke
02. Where was your profile picture taken?
Cedar Crest in Lawrence, MA
03. Can you play Guitar Hero?
Yes. We won't discuss my skill level
04. Name someone who made you laugh today?
Joanie at work.
05. How late did you stay up last night and why?
11pm, I was watching TV!! Do you know who River Song is?
06. If you could move somewhere else, would you?
Yes, I would.
07. Ever been kissed under fireworks?
Nope.
08. Which of your friends lives closest to you?
I don't really know. I think Jenn lives closest.
09. Do you believe ex's can be friends?
Yes, I'm friends with all of my exes. It might take awhile, but it happens.
10. How do you feel about moutain dew?
It makes my feet damp in the morning. It's why I don't like going camping.
11. When was the last time you cried really hard?
A few days ago. I was watching a comedy special and I was laughing so hard, tears were streaming out my eyes...
12. Who took your profile picture?
My youngest sister
13. Who was the last person you took a picture of?
I don't actually remember.
14. Was yesterday better than today?
Not really...
15. Can you live a day without TV?
Yes, it's called reading! And there's something about it being fun & mental... or something..
16. Are you upset about anything?
Not at the moment, but give it time..
17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it??
Always...
18. Are you a bad influence? Me? Really?
Nah.. I don't influence anyone, people make their own decisions.. Honestly!
19. Night out or night in?
Depends on the activity..
20. What items could you not go without during the day?
I can go without pretty much everything.
21. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?
My Mom a long time ago...
22. What does the last text message in your inbox say?
It's my little sister asking for help with Zelda.
23. How do you feel about your life right now?
As my other sister says.... Meh..
24. Do you hate anyone right now?
I hate the Lannisters! Those sodding, bastard screwing asswipes!!!
25. If we were to look in your facebook inbox, what would we find?
A bunch of messages.. Seriously, who's coming up with these questions??
26. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?
Of course, I'm strange enough as is, I don't need drugs.
27. Has anyone ever called you perfect before?
Yes, a perfect pain in the ass!!!
28. What song is stuck in your head?
Bailamos by Enrique Iglesias..
29. Someone knocks on your window at 2:00 a.m., who do you want it to be?
A beautiful woman wanting to have wild sex with me! Of course, I sleep like a corpse so she'd have to be knocking for a LONG, LONG time.
30.Wanna have grand kids by the time you're 50?
Nah... 50 is the new 30!
31. What do you have to do tomorrow?
Work, laundry... work...
32. Do you think too much or too little?
There is NO SUCH THING as thinking too little!! How dare you suggest such a thing!!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
New Info on Batman Arkham City...
For all my fellow Bat fans, we get a new look at the gameplay for Batman: Arkham City. This includes some in game cinematic footage of the man (or men?) himself (themselves?): Two-Face!! They show off a little more of what you can do as Batman, including interrogating a Riddler informant!! And they start it off with a surprise reveal!!! Check it out:
Talk about awesome, right? I can't wait till this game comes out!! It is SO going to rock! And with 25+ hours of gameplay, it's going to allow for a longer trip into the world of Batman!
Playstation brings new life with the PS Vita!
Well, it's official! Sony's Next-Gen portable gaming system has just been announced!! It's called the PS Vita (the latin term for life!)
Looks sleek and sexy! Here's the quick specs:
-- Dual analog sticks
-- Front & Rear mounted cameras
-- 5 inch OLED touchscreen
-- Multi-Touch Pad (on the back)
-- Sixaxis motion sensor
-- Wi-Fi capable
-- 3G enabled (through AT&T)
The wi-fi only version retails for $249. If you want 3G, the price goes up to $299. Check out this demo video:
Wanna trade in your PSP for this one, don't cha?? Hmm?? Admit it, you know you want one!! Me? I'm going to wait and see how this baby handles before I start drooling for it. Sony has a bit of a bad track record with their V1 machines. But it's still exciting to see!
Looks sleek and sexy! Here's the quick specs:
-- Dual analog sticks
-- Front & Rear mounted cameras
-- 5 inch OLED touchscreen
-- Multi-Touch Pad (on the back)
-- Sixaxis motion sensor
-- Wi-Fi capable
-- 3G enabled (through AT&T)
The wi-fi only version retails for $249. If you want 3G, the price goes up to $299. Check out this demo video:
Wanna trade in your PSP for this one, don't cha?? Hmm?? Admit it, you know you want one!! Me? I'm going to wait and see how this baby handles before I start drooling for it. Sony has a bit of a bad track record with their V1 machines. But it's still exciting to see!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
An Old Favorite Returns....
Because of some weird mental issue that I have, I grew up watching all kinds of movies that I shouldn't have had access to as a little kid. One of my favorites is a quirky little vampire flick called Fright Night. It was a great, cheesy vamp film that pulled together the archetypes of the vampire mythology: the young male hero, the crackpot vampire hunter, etc, and wove them into a simple story that has become an unsung classic in my eyes.
Guess what? Fright Night is going to be remade!! No, I'm serious!!! Here, check out the trailer:
It looks pretty cool. Especially, Colin Farrell as the vampire. I've always loved seeing him as the bad guy in movies. It's also cool to see Anton Yelchin again. This guy is going to be a very diverse actor. I can't wait until this one comes out!
Guess what? Fright Night is going to be remade!! No, I'm serious!!! Here, check out the trailer:
It looks pretty cool. Especially, Colin Farrell as the vampire. I've always loved seeing him as the bad guy in movies. It's also cool to see Anton Yelchin again. This guy is going to be a very diverse actor. I can't wait until this one comes out!
Thoughts On... Fandom
I look around and I see, read, and hear everyone around me talking about how they are fans of this thing or that show. But, very few people stop to think about what exactly they are saying when they use the word "fan". Because very few people ever really think about the origin of the word "fan" and the meaning. "Fan" isn't really a word, it's an abbreviation. Of what you may ask? It's an abbreviation of the word: Fanatic.
Think about that for a moment. The word we casually throw around to say we have an interest in something originates from a word that is very closely associated with insanity. What’s amazing is how accurate the term is in the way we apply it to ourselves. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen (either in person or on television) people lose themselves in their interests completely. I mean to the point of completely disregarding family, friends, even work.
Now, I am a passionate person, and anyone who knows me can tell you, dear readers, how my interests can consume me at times. While it may not seem like it outwardly, there are always limits to how far my passions take me. Because I know there is a line between my life and my interests. I don’t dream about living in the world of my favorite shows, or dress up as my favorite characters. With the shows I watch, that would be tantamount to suicide! I don’t hunt down every single piece of information about the celebrities (actors, musicians, etc) I like. You won’t see me decorating my house like the lair of some video game or movie villain.
Why? That’s simple: I don’t care.
I don’t care who is sleeping with whom on the set. I don’t care that some musician said something to some reporter about some actor they ran into. Or that this person was caught kissing that person in this place which is “oh so scandalous” because they are in a relationship with someone else. That is just fluff & nonsense to me. It’s crap.
What do I care about? The future projects my favorite celebrities are going to be working on. Their thoughts and opinions on the subject matter they’ve chosen to work on. The reasons they decided to work on a given project, or why they left. And, of course, the ACTUAL SUBJECT MATTER they’re working on. Most of the things I’m interested in usually gain my interest because of a key philosophical point in the subject matter. Others gain my interest because they are sufficiently complex to distract me from the problems in my life for a little while.
I have had discussions for hours on end about tv shows or books that I’ve read. And while from the outside, it might seem on the same level as the people I’m critiquing at the moment, it isn’t. Because these discussions serve a purpose, they flesh out my beliefs in my head. They allow me to challenge my worldview in situations that I would NEVER encounter in my life. When will I be battling ghosts, demons or angels? When would I need to interrogate a terrorist? When would I need to get into the mind of serial killer? I wouldn’t. But getting a glimpse of that life, even a fictionalized version of it, helps me expand my knowledge of myself. It helps me figure out what I really believe, and why I believe it.
In the end, I am not a fan… I am an enthusiast or aficionado if you like. A buff or geek, even. But a fan? Not on your life.
A Love Song Playlist...
It has come to my attention that I come across as someone who has a somewhat harsh view of love. Some say it’s so harsh a view that it’s conceivable that I don’t really believe in love. Now, I am the first to admit that I’m a caustic, sarcastic, cynical kind of guy. But not to believe in love?? I hardly think I’m THAT far gone! I’m just a bit more… critical of love than most. In fact, I’ll prove it. Here is a list of love songs from my own personal collection of music. And before you ask, yes I will swear to the fact.
*places hand on holy object of reader’s choice*
I swear by all that you deem holy that at the time of this posting, I actually own copies of each and every one of the following songs.
*removes hand from holy object, inspects hand for burns*
01. 01 – Take That – Rule The World (Full Version)
02. 02 – NeYo – Closer
03. 03 – Joy Enriquez – Uh Oh
04. 04 – Debelah Morgan – I Remember (Rodney Jerkins Extended Remix)
05. 05 – Savage Garden – Chained To You
06. 06 – Jessica Simpson – Irresistible
07. 07 – Bosson – One In A Million
08. 08 – Leann Rimes – The Right Kind Of Wrong
09. 09 – Joss Stone, Les Paul, & Sting – Love Sneakin’ Up On You
10. 10 – Santana (Ft. Alex Band) – Why Don’t You & I
11. 11 – Soluna – Bring It To Me
12. 12 – Lionel Richie – Angel (Metro Mix)
13. 13 – Gloria Estefan – Everlasting Love
14. 14 – Liberty X (Vs Richard X) – Being Nobody
15. 15 – Michael Jackson – The Way You Make Me Feel
16. 16 – Usher (Ft Will.I.Am) – OMG (Album Version)
17. 17 – Santana (Ft. Michelle Branch) – The Game Of Love
18. 18 – Marc Anthony – I’ve Got You
19. 19 – Angel City – Love Me Right
20. 20 – Al Green – Love & Happiness
Okay? Are you happy now? Satisfied? Good!
Drink Up Me 'Earties, Yo HO!!
When I heard the rumors that they were going to make Pirates of the Caribbean 4, I was going to roll up my eyes, and vent some of my frustrations with highly caustic and sarcastic remarks. Then I found out who was cast in the film. More importantly, I found out who WASN’T cast. Orlando Bloom & Keira Knightly weren’t listed. A glimmer of hope lit up the dark recesses of my mind. Could it be the producers of Pirates of the Caribbean series finally realized who the real lynch pin of the series was? And that this time they were going to actually focus on Jack? No way! Then I saw the trailer, and my hopes were proven true! This time it looked GOOD!! So, I gladly went to see the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film: On Stranger Tides. When I walked out of theaters after the end of the film, I felt fully vindicated. This was the movie that should have followed Curse of The Black Pearl.
On Stranger Tides picks up a little bit after At World’s End with some familiar faces. Obviously there’s Jack who has been trying to get to the Fountain of Youth with no success. Also returning is Hector Barbossa, only he seems to no longer be a pirate, but is now gainfully employed as a captain of the royal navy! Rumors start spreading in London that Jack Sparrow is looking to hire a crew to go find the Fountain of Youth. This is of great interest to a lot of people, including Jack himself, who had no idea this was going on. After being informed of this by Mr Gibbs (the last returning Pirates vet), Jack decides to look into what’s going on in his name… and events unfold from there.
Let’s get back to the cast, specifically the two new members of the team. And what great choices they were!! First we have Ian McShane as Blackbeard. Now, as the new bad ass pirate in the series, McShane had his work cut out for him, having to live up to both Barbossa AND Davy Jones (who was a good villain, just in a really bad set of movies). But McShane came through with FLYING colors! There hasn’t been a creepier pirate on film yet.
In his portrayal of Blackbeard, McShane brought an entirely different kind of menace to the Pirates series. Instead of going with the standard loud and obnoxious route for evil pirates, McShane infused Blackbeard with a type of cold, calm brutality that has all the more powerful an impact because of the detached, almost serene manner in which he carries out his actions. There isn’t any yelling or overt aggression. Blackbeard threatens and kills in the same way he would order lunch. And while he enjoys his lunch, his aloofness gives him the air of a man on a mission. No matter what happens, Blackbeard is going to get what he wants done. Period. And this style of behavior plays very well not only against Sparrow’s drunken chaos but also against Barbossa’s fiery intensity. The interactions between the three of them were really cool to watch.
The second addition is Penelope Cruz as Angelica, Blackbeard’s daughter. Casting Ms. Cruz was brilliant because she has the capacity to keep up with the level of energy which Depp gives to Jack Sparrow. From the moment she comes on screen, she plays Angelica in perfect complement to Jack. It’s like watching a perfectly choreographed dance. I’ve always said that watching two masters at work is always interesting. Watching Cruz & Depp bait and counter each other proves my point.
As for the direction & writing, they did exactly what they needed to in order to make the film work. They brought the story back to basics, getting rid of any unnecessary complications, while also pushing deeper into the madness behind the character’s methods, especially with Capt. Jack Sparrow. You can literally see hints of the planning Jack does in certain scenes, but you never get enough to fully predict what is going to happen next. They also got rid of the excessive comedy in this film. There are funny moments, but that’s all they are: moments; not entire segments of the film. And the director, Rob Marshall, really ordered the movie well. There wasn’t a single point in the film where the story dragged. There was always something of interest going on, but never so much that you’d get lost or overwhelmed. Marshall’s control of the movie was masterful.
In the end, all I can really say is if you liked the first Pirates movie, you’ll really enjoy On Stranger Tides. It’s Pirates of the Caribbean back to form. Moreover, it was a good time and I highly recommend it.
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